As we approached the mountain the path began to slope upwards, raising with the mountain. The path soon became completely surrounded by trees, blocking out the sun and sky. As we continued, our group seemed to slowly walk closer to one another.

"Alright everypony," Twilight says in a hushed tone, “This is technically part of the Everfree, so be on the lookout for anything that may try to get the jump on us." Everyone gives silent nods as we continue to walk up the path.

This area seems to be cooler than the open path before. Something moves nearby, ruffling one of the lower plants, making everyone stop abruptly; except for me, I only stop because I nearly tripped over Twilight. The rustling continues to grow as Storm and I move to the front of the group, readying our weapons for whatever may come out. The rustling stops abruptly as a small grey creature hops into view. It has small beady eyes, a round puffy white tail and long ears that stand on top of its head.

"It's just a bunny," Storm says, getting sighs of relief from everyone else. I lower my guard but don't let it out of my sight. I don't like the looks of this... bunny. Fluttershy moves to the front and tries to approach the bunny, but stops when something comes flying out of the air and slams into it. I see for a brief moment what looks like a bright pink tongue slam into the bunny and pull it into the trees.

We all look up to see a slimy creature sitting in a tree, pulling its tongue back into its mouth and giving a few chews before swallowing. The back of its body is dark green with a light green underbelly; it's back has a row of long red spikes going from its head to the end of its back. It has a wide face, at least a meter wide, and a fat body. It seems to be covered in a gooey slime except for the spikes. It has large round eyes on both sides of its face that seem to bulge out. It sits on four legs, the back two are set as if it's squatting.

"It's a Goliath Treehopper!" yells Fluttershy as she quickly backs into the group.

"A what?" I ask, but when I look back everyone has already started to run down the path, well... thanks for waiting... or at least telling me.

I look back to the Treehopper and stare it down. It returns the stare as it begins to puff its chest out. It shoots its tongue straight for me, but with a twist I easily avoid being hit. I begin to trot down the path as it pulls its tongue back. I hear some cracking followed by what sounds like something flying through the air. I look back to see it crash into the path and turn towards me, shooting its tongue at me again and hitting me square in the back. I’m knocked to the ground, and feel myself being pulled towards the creature. I try to fight to get free, but its tongue seems to be covered in a sticky glue-like substance. I flare my hands and bring red flames forth, grabbing the tongue and burning it apart, setting me free. The creature lets out a bloodcurdling scream as it pulls the remainder of its tongue into its mouth. It flails around for a bit before jumping clear over the trees and out of sight.

I sigh in relief as I stand back up, letting go of my magic. I feel a chunk still hanging on my back, so I reach back and try to pull it off. With a loud ripping sound I remove the rest of the tongue, as well as a good portion of my shirt. Well, fuck. I've barely had this shirt a day and it's already ruined. Whatever, I'll just get a new one later. I turn down the path and begin to jog down, trying to catch up with the rest of the group.

I come to a fork in the road and slow to a stop. The one on the right seems to continue up the mountain, where the other seems to go along the side of the mountain. Well, we were climbing the mountain, so I guess that would be the best choice. I continue my jog up the right path. After a few minutes I think I can hear them up ahead, so I quicken my pace. The path has a tight turn up ahead so I slow down to turn. When I come around I instantly slam into Storm and fall to the ground.

"Miles, thank goodness you're alright!" says Twilight as she runs up to me, followed by the rest of the group. Storm shakes himself before standing back up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Oh, thanks for the warning by the way," I say, making everyone look away, twiddling hooves and looking guilty.

"S-sorry Miles, I thought you were behind us, honest," says Fluttershy from behind her hair.

"Eh, it's alright, though I will be needing a new shirt," I say feeling my exposed back.

"Oh, did that disgusting beast destroy your fabulous shirt?" says Rarity as she circles around and checks the damaged back. "This simply cannot stand; next stop I'll be sure to fix it for you."

"Well, OK. Thanks," I say as we all continue to walk up the path.

"Think nothing of it."

"What was that thing anyway?"

"It was a Goliath Treehopper," Fluttershy explains, "they are overgrown frogs that eat anything that'll fit in their mouths. They're poisonous and can jump clear over trees in a single bound. Big meanies." Hmm... can hop trees, Tree Hopper, clever. As we continue to climb up the path, the trees around us begin to thin out until they end abruptly. The area here has clear ground, with jagged rocks jutting out all over, giving a feeling of being devoid of life. A freezing breeze blows through the air, sending chills throughout my body. I look around and see that we're about a third of the way up, with the sun slowly getting closer to the horizon.

"Do you know where this dragon is sleeping?" I ask.

"Well, there's only one cave large enough to fit a dragon, and it's close to the summit," Twilight replies. Of course it is.

"Do you think it'll be as easy as last time?" asks Rainbow Dash.

"I hope so cause then we can get home sooner and then we can start our CONGRATULATIONS FOR SAVING PONYVILLE PARTY and we can have cake and play games and dance and..."

"Did you say party?" I ask.

"Well DUH! Why wouldn't I throw all of us a job well done party?" she says while hopping up and down.

"O-OK, you throw a party," and I'll be sure to stay the fuck away, "I'm sure it'll be fun." She stops mid-flight and looks at me with the biggest smile ever. When she drops to the ground she springs back up and wraps me in a hug.

"Oh my gosh I thought you were going to try and avoid my party because I remember you said you hated parties and that made me really sad and I thought you didn't like me because you also said we weren't friends but now you're gonna go to my party and we'll hang out and play games and we'll be bestest friends and THANK YOU!" How did she say all of that in one breath, and under ten seconds? Wait... she thinks I'm going to the party. I look down to her and see the pure joy in her eyes, and feel it in the slight pain from my arms due to her tight hug. Aw fuck... I don't think I could say no, now... this will not end well.

"Just... don't invite too many people. I don't think I could handle that yet." She drops to the ground and begins to hop away in pure bliss. “Pinkie..." She either ignores me or is too happy to hear me - yeah, this won't end well. As we continue to walk, Twilight comes beside me.

"That was very kind of you, Miles," She says simply.

"Yeah, I actually wasn't planning on going, but once I saw how happy she was, I couldn't say no."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure she keeps it small. Most ponies don't know we're even doing this, so it should be just us and maybe a few others."

"Oh... OK, I should be able to handle that... hopefully." Twilight gives a small chuckle and runs ahead of the group to talk with Pinkie Pie. Before I could say or think anything Storm flies next to me.

"So, Buzz Killington is gonna go to a party. Can't wait to see that."

"You can't wait to see that, or can't wait to see Twilight dancing?" He stops mid-flight and drops to the ground. He stands back up and quickly checks his wings, which are luckily under control. He jumps back into the air and flies back beside me.

"That wasn't cool."

"Hey, not my fault you can't control yourself."

"I'm in control!"

"Yeah, we'll see how you fare at the party." Storm looks away and flies ahead of me; yeah, point - Miles.

We are about two thirds of the way up the mountain now. Rainbow Dash has flown up and is now sleeping on a cloud. I asked Storm about it, but he simply gave me an odd look and said they're really comfy. I'll have to try one sometime. The incline has increased severely now. I'm basically facing the ground as we climb up. After what feels like hours of this, we finally come to a plateau. We all climb onto the plateau and take a moment to catch our breath. The area around here is fairly level, leading to a massive cave. The entrance is at least a story tall and has scorch marks all over. The inside is dark and seems to lead far into the mountain. After a minute of rest, Fluttershy flies off and fetches Rainbow Dash. Once we’re all together, Twilight begins to go through her plan.

"Alright, here's the plan. Fluttershy and I will go inside and talk to the dragon, if he cooperates, then we'll head home, if not then we go to plan B. I have some potions that will force the dragon awake, so he won't be able to stay here to take a nap. If anything goes wrong, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie will cause a distraction while Applejack gets ready with the apples. Storm and Miles... will... uh..."

"You didn't plan on us coming, did you?" I ask as I cross my arms.

"Well, no. Hopefully we won't need your help if we can convince him to leave."

"Alright, but first things first, what are these apple things for our defense?" I ask, looking to Applejack, who pulls out two red grenade like things. "Are those explosives?"

"What!? No! They're fruits." I give her an even stare, “ya normally eat 'em."

"OK, what's your distraction?" I ask looking over to the other three.

"Well, if he goes into the air I'll fly circles around him-" Rainbow Dash says.

"And I'll use my magic to blind him-" Rarity says, cutting off Rainbow.

"And I've got this!" Pinkie Pie says as she pulls out some weird rubber toy and swings it back and forth, getting puzzled looks from everyone. I look over to Storm, and we share an unimpressed look before looking back to the group.

"That is a horrible plan," I say.

"Yeah, I don't see that ever working," agrees Storm.

"What's wrong with our plan?" Twilight asks, slightly offended.

"Well, where to start... You want to ask a creature that is ten times your size to leave by asking nicely. And you said so yourself that dragons and ponies don't interact, so why would he listen? If it were to get angry, you want to attack it with FOOD. And when you piss it off with food, you plan on using yourselves as live bait to distract it."

"Yeah girls, I don't see any possible way for any of that to have the desired effect," says Storm.

"It worked last time," chimes Pinkie Pie.

"Did it?" I ask.

"Well, not exactly. But Fluttershy was able to convince him to leave before, she should be able to do it again."

I look over to Fluttershy and ask, "Is that true?"

"Well... I did, but only because he hurt my friends. I don't think I could muster the courage to be that assertive again," she says as she shies away from us.

"Alright, I've got an idea, let's do this the smarter way. First, me and someone else will do some recon in the cave, making sure there's only one dragon and to get an idea of what we're actually dealing with. The rest of you will work on a way to collapse the cave entrance."

"Why would we need to do that?" asks Rainbow Dash.

"If the dragon wakes up and tries to attack whoever is inside, they're going to run out the entrance, when the dragon follows, we will cause the roof of the cave to fall on top of him. It's a little better than throwing food. Now, who wants to do recon with me?" The girls get quiet as I look from face to face. Finally, Twilight steps forward.

"I'll go, if things get hairy, I'll be able to teleport us out." I nod and begin to walk into the cave, Twilight following closely.

The inside of the cave is dark and damp. The temperature seems to get hotter and hotter as we walk deeper in. I can see a light glow up ahead, so I begin to creep against the walls of the cave, with Twilight following close behind me. As we walk forward, the room becomes wider and wider until we stop before the sleeping chamber. The room inside is several stories high and circular, I think I can see a smaller exit on the other side. Stalactites come down from the top of the ceiling and let little drips of water fall on top of the sleeping dragon. The dragon is red with yellow undertones, with massive spikes coming from its neck. It's sleeping on a massive pile of gold and gems that shine, filling the room with a light glow of gold. In front of the massive pile is a smaller separate pile, with a smaller dragon sleeping on it. This dragon is similar in coloring but looks to be about my size, maybe a little larger. I look back to Twilight and motion for us to leave. She nods and we quickly leave the cave. When we get to the exit, everyone come to us for answers.

"Well? What didja find?" asks Applejack.

"Well, I was right to assume that there is more than one dragon in there," I say, getting shocked looks from everyone.

"Yeah, and that's gonna be a real problem," says Twilight as she looks over to Rainbow Dash and Rarity. "You guys remember that dragon from when Spike went to the dragon migration?"

"That jerk is in there?!" says Rainbow, pointing a hoof inside.

"Yes. So I don't think waking him with us in there will be a good idea."

"I thought you said dragons and ponies don't interact?" I ask as I look back to Twilight.

"We don't, but when Spike went to be with the dragons we followed him to keep an eye on him. He got into some trouble with that one and we had to jump in to rescue him." Well, this complicates things.

"Do you have enough of that potion for both of them?"

"I barely have enough for the larger one." Well fuck.

"Did you find a way to collapse the entrance?"

"Well, we could do it magically," says Rarity.

"Alright, here's the plan in my head. Storm and I will head inside and wake the smaller one. If he tries to attack, we'll lead him out the back. Storm will fly up and give Rainbow a signal that we're out of the cave, which she will send to the rest of you. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will go inside and slip the potion to the larger one. Once you give it to him, get out. If he chases, Twilight and Rarity will collapse the tunnel. Applejack, I want you to set up a trip wire at the entrance, one that will be large enough to stop or at least slow down the dragon, giving Twilight and Rarity enough time to collapse the tunnel. Every one understand their jobs?"

"Why are you the one to bait the smaller dragon out? Wouldn't it be better for me to do it?" asks Storm.

"Maybe after you give the signal, but it'll be faster for you to send the signal rather than having to run back out of the cave. Plus, if he sees me run out the other entrance, he might just follow me anyway." I look around and don't see anyone about to object, so I walk to the edge of the entrance and drop off my bags. I also remove my boots and socks. The floor is cold and jagged but I'll deal with it.

"Why did you remove your shoes?" asks Storm.

"So I can run away," I say matter-of-factually.

I look back to everyone and see them getting into position, so I begin to walk back into the cave. When we get to the room, I stop and look back to Storm.

"Alright, fly over and make sure that the other cave is an exit," I whisper to Storm.

"I thought you said there was another exit!" Storm loudly whispers back.

"I didn't have time to check, so just fly over and if there is, just signal me and I'll wake the small one."

"Fine." He flies over the dragons and goes down the other tunnel. As I wait I look at the massive piles of gold and gems. Maybe I can go through and take just a bit. How would they even notice just a handful missing? Before I could try to take anything, Storm flies above the other entrance and signals me to proceed. I walk casually over to the piles and position myself so that I can run out in a straight line. I look around and grab a fist-sized gem. I pick it up and look it over. Shame I can't keep it. I toss the gem towards the smaller dragon and hit him right in the head.

"Ow, what the heck was that!?" he yells as he stands. He finally spots me and glares at me. "I don't know what you are, but you’re toast for waking me up!" I flip him off and motion him to follow with my finger. He launches off the pile straight for me. I turn and run down the other tunnel at full speed with him following me out.

When we get to the entrance I can tell he's right on my ass, so I roll forward and stop, making him fly over me and into the sky. I run to the left and begin to go down the mountain. As I run, I flare the magic in my heels and begin to vault off the side of the mountain. Every jump sends me high into the air and crashing into the ground. Thanks to the magic, the ground folds underneath me and does no harm to me. I look back to see the dragon closing the gap between the two of us and Storm high in the air, signaling the others. A few more vaults and I'm back inside the forest, with the dragon close behind.

I stop and put a tree in between the two of us. I stop the flow of energy to my heels and pull out my trench knife with my right hand. I send the energy to my hands and get ready for him to catch up. As the energy flows into my knife, white arcane text appears on the blade and spiked knuckles. I peer back to see the dragon walking around, trying to find me. As he gets closer, I creep around the tree to put myself behind him. As I approach him from behind something slams into my left arm, gaining the attention of the dragon as well. I look back to see the Treehopper from earlier a few meters away, looking pissed.

"Well, well, well. Looks like you're trapped. I usually prefer gems, but I think I'm a little overdue for some meat," he says as he walks toward me. The Tree Hopper isn't trying to pull me back this time, he's just holding me at bay. When the dragon is close enough he leans down and gets in my face. "Any last words?"

"Yeah, two actually," I say as I bring back my right fist, making him raise an eyebrow. "FUCK OFF!" I yell as I slam the spiked knuckles into his gut. The moment I make contact, white energy explodes from my knife, sending the dragon flying into a nearby tree and splitting it in half. I look back to the Tree Hopper and bury the blade into its tongue, making it scream in agony as the blade burns the flesh off. Again, the tip is burned off and the Treehopper jumps away. I shut off my magic and rip off the remaining chunks of flesh, creating a new tear in my shirt. I holster my blade and begin to walk back to the edge of the forest.

"Miles? Where you at Miles?" I hear Storm shouting from the edge of the forest.

"Storm. Over here," I yell while waving a hand, getting his attention. We meet halfway and stop when we hear a slam behind me. I turn around and see the dragon right behind me, holding his gut. The area around where I hit has a few scales missing, but looks fine other than that.

"Gah, I'll make you pay, I'll..."

"RRAAAWWRRR!" Something yells from the mountain, getting the attention of the dragon in front of me.

"Aw man, I guess you luck out today. Watch your back, cause the next time I see you, you're dead," he says before he jumps into the air and flies back to the top of the mountain.

"Well, that was lucky," says Storm.

"Yeah, for now at least." We turn and start to walk back through the forest to the trail.

"Did you do that?" Storm asks as he eyes me.

"Do what?"

"He was missing scales; did you do that?"

"Oh, I guess I did."

"How?"

"With my trench knife." He looks at my knife in disbelief, but doesn't ask anything else. When we get to the trail I can see all of the girls coming down. They look happy and unharmed, so I assume that everything went OK. We wait on the trail for them to catch up, and when they do Rarity tosses me my boots.

"Thanks for bringing my stuff, did everything work out alright?" I ask as I begin to put my boots and socks on.

"Everything went according to plan," Twilight says in a pleased tone. When I finish I grab my bag from Applejack and we begin to walk back to Ponyville. As we walk, all the girls tell about how Fluttershy was so brave and how they didn't have to use the failsafe. I nod as I listen, but dread returning to Ponyville. Why did I agree to a party, can't I fight the dragon instead...?

Next Chapter: Chapter 21 Pinkies Party Estimated time remaining: 83 Hours, 51 Minutes